


Synchronised Heartbeats

by fishwwin



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24069643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishwwin/pseuds/fishwwin
Summary: if you have a close emotional bond with someone and have been in contact for more than three years, your heartbeats can become synchronised.For Twitter user @whimsihao
Relationships: Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Synchronised Heartbeats

A heartbeat is like a metronome, a steady rhythm of the soul, ticking steadily, reassuringly. 

  
Wen Junhui and Xu Minghao have been friends ever since young. They were an inseparable duo, who attended the same elementary, middle and high schools. It helped that they were neighbors, and their parents were good friends as well. 

The time for university rolled around. They had both applied and made it into the same university, though they chose different courses––Minghao chose to pursue visual arts, while Junhui chose music. It wasn't before long Junhui got an invite to join a prestigious and rigorous internship at a university overseas. Junhui had told Minghao, very enthusiastically, about the offer just minutes after receiving it. The duo were elated. Minghao urged Junhui to take the offer, waving him off when he mentioned that they would be separated. "Technology has advanced a lot over the years, we can always call," Minghao had said. 

Soon came the day Junhui was leaving. Minghao stood at the doorway of Junhui's house. He engulfed Jun in a large hug, Junhui returning it. Their hearts beat a steady rhythm, matching beat for beat. It has been this way for 17 years, so why wouldn't it still be? They were soulmates, childhood friends, brothers. 

Minghao helped load the luggage into the taxi, ruffling the hair of his cherished friend. "Stop it, now I have to recomb it," Junhui teased. Minghao stuck his tongue out at him teasingly. "See you in a few months." Junhui cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips into a smile. "I'll call once I arrive."

The taxi drove off, Minghao waving until the car disappeared out of sight, melting into the sunset. Slowly, he walked back to his house. He placed his hand on his heart, feeling the steady pulse, the built-in metronome that fuelled life into his being. The thing that connected him to Junhui, like a red string of fate.

The full moon outside illuminated the quiet town with a gentle white glow, a soft breeze swaying the leaves to and fro. The bustling town was finally sleeping, a serene silence, for it was midnight. 

Minghao jolted awake, in cold sweat. He fumbled through the covers, stumbling to his feet. Panting, he look at his reflection in the mirror. Pale. He could hear his heartbeat, loud and irregular, the blood pulsing in his ears. It got faster and faster. Someone was cranking the dial of the metronome, speeding up. 100, 110, 120. Up and up. Minghao's knees gave way. He fell on the bed. He looked around. Flashes of bright red. Orange. Navy. Sky blue. White. A cacophony resonated in his head, where in reality all he was hearing was silence.

It stopped as fast as it came. A dull silence filled the room. Shades of black, grey and white returned to him. His heartbeat slowed down, as though almost stopping. Minghao placed his hand on his chest once again. His breathing slowed. His chest tightened and ached. He curled up into a small ball on his bed, trying to relieve the pain, to hide from it. Though, it wasn't his chest that ached, it was his heart. It was as though it were screaming. Tears begged to leave his eyes, rolling down his cheeks, staining the sheets. Minghao lay there, confused, in pain, an odd sadness overwhelming him, lulling him back to an uneasy slumber.

Minghao woke up to find himself curled up at the very corner of his bed, in the same position he fell asleep in. He stretched his limbs, sore from the uncomfortable sleep. He felt an odd, continuous dullness. His heartbeat was shallow and monotone, the melody sapped out of it. Minghao walked over to the kitchen, turning the television on before making himself a cup of tea. "…the cause of the crash seems to be one of engine failure, which the pilots were unable to resolve before plummeting into the vast ocean below. Specifics have yet to be confirmed. Footage from our sources this morning show that…" Minghao dropped his cup of freshly brewed tea. The cup shattered into a million pieces. Minghao stumbled over to the television, taking a good look at what was being broadcasted. He reached for his phone in his back pocket, hands shaking. With shallow breaths, he checked Junhui's flight information.

It couldn't be. Right?

Minghao collapsed to the ground. His phone slid out of his palm, onto the carpet. He stared blankly at the television. Tears rolled down his face. 

It couldn't be true. It couldn't. 

What happened last night was just a figment of his imagination. Right?

He's just living in a twisted dream, right?

This world that he had treasured so much, this life that he had cherished so, now shattered. Broken. 

Is this it? 

Four weeks have passed. Junhui had given all of his possessions to him, as per stated in his will. "If this ever happens, please take care of everything for me. I'm sorry. Please, live on." Those were his words, the last words written on the will. Minghao had never felt this empty in his entire existence before. He questioned living, questioned everything. Why him? Why not me? What for is the bestowment of such cruelty on my being? Yet, Minghao continued to live on, a promise he had made to Junhui, or to his will, at least. He carried on with his daily life, even so with a certain dullness, detached from everything nonetheless. His once so colorful world, now painted in grayscale, all the life, the vibrance, sapped out of it. Every day he questioned his existence. 

Four months have passed. Minghao sat in a coffee shop near the university, drinking tea as he halfheartedly leafed through his assignment. Nothing excited him anymore. Art, which he once loved so much, has lost its spark. His canvases were streaked with grey. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, face streaked with invisible tears. Living without purpose had taken a toll on him. An unpleasant one.

"Gege, are you okay?" A small child, no older than 10, walked up to him, peering at him with large, sparkly eyes. Dirt stained his clothing, but he seemed unbothered. The child held up half a cookie to him. "Eat some. It will make you feel better."

Minghao looked over at him. He looked around, searching for his parents, or whoever seemed to be in charge of the child. No one seemed to be looking for him. Minghao looked back at the child, and took his offer of the cookie. "Thank you," Minghao smiled. Or tried to. The boy cocked his head to the side, pursing his lips, into a smile. 

Something clicked. Minghao stared at the boy, who stared back with those large eyes of his. 

"What's your name, kiddo?"

"June!" The child chirped, struggling to sit properly on the chair opposite Minghao. When he finally sat on the chair, June fiddled with the unused fork on the table. Minghao watched the kid intently. 

"Where' your.." 

"Parents? I don't have any," June grinned, a hint of sadness.

Minghao pursed his lips. He felt an odd attachment with this child. Before he knew it, he made a crazy offer.

"Perhaps, do you want to live with me?" 

Without a second of hesitation, June nodded his head. "Yeah!"

The metronome beat slightly faster. Color was starting to return to his world. He felt something. Something he had not felt in a long time. 

Happiness.

He could feel a fragment of Junhui present in this child, for some reason. For a child, June carried himself rather maturely, but still playfully. 

Just like Junhui.

It was as though he was reincarnated. Minghao rushed over to the child, engulfing him in a hug. He didn't care that he was dirty or smelly. June returned the hug. 

"It's going to be okay." 

The world burst back into color. The metronome returned, restored to its original glory, the shallow pulses replaced with a steady melody. His friend, his soulmate, his brother, now living once again in this child. 

4 years have passed from the incident. June was living happily with Minghao, in the same house. Junhui's house remained as it was, a memento of his lost friend, now found in another. Jun pieced together the shattered pieces of Minghao's world, like kintsugi. 

A heartbeat is like a metronome, a steady rhythm of the soul, ticking steadily, reassuringly. With your heartbeat I can be music, dance, and so much more. And I hope that it is my steady heart that can do the same for you.


End file.
